Family Reunion Message
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Open with prayer
Jonah 1:1-4;7-10;12;15;17
And Yahweh provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea so that the sea may quiet down for you, because I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you all.”
Come out of the stuck place.
Many of us have been finding ourselves in a place where there seems to be no hope. A place where sadness, depression, anxiety, and fear have tried to grip us and hold us down as if we are under water. Here you are, drowning and the world around you seems to be moving forward fast.
What do you do, when you find yourself in a stuck place?
Who can you call when you find yourself in a stuck place?
I’m reminded of Jonah, (chapter 1 &2) Jonah was a man that God wanted to use, he himself carried the burden of his gift, but wanted to run as far as he could. Jonah was told to go to Ninevah but he fled and went to Tarshish…let me put this in common terms “God told you to go to church but you went to the club, God told you to read your Bible but you went and got High, God told you to pray but you went and laid up with someone you weren’t married to, God told you to stop spending all of your resources, but you went straight to the mall.
When Jonah disobeyed God and got on that boat to Tarshish, the water became angry! His shipmates had to suffer because he disobeyed God. Disobedience not only affects you but it affects those around you.…side bar “How many of your family, friends or loved ones are suffering because of your disobedience?”
Let’s fast forward, the shipmates threw Jonah overboard because they realize he’s the problem…some of you need to admit “I’m the problem” it’s okay this is a safe space…we gone get out of our stuck place today!
He was thrown over board and a big fish (whale) came and swallowed him up. While in the belly of the big fish (whale), Jonah did 3 things…he prayed to God for help, he repented, and he praised God. For three days Jonah sat in the belly of the fish.
When you want freedom bad enough there’s a cost you must pay. Tell your neighbor, there’s a cost for freedom. Jonah wanted to be on the other side of his bad decision, he wanted things to turn in his favor and I believe while he was in the belly of the whale he began to put pressure on heaven through his prayer, through repentance and through his praise!
There are times in our life when we get so caught up in the situation that we forget the way out of our stuck place is through prayer, repentance and praise!
Let’s keep moving through this text, the Bible says after Jonah prayed, repented and praise
God had the big fish throw up Jonah onto the shores of Nineveh.
I hear God saying that some of you are getting ready to be thrown up at your divine destination, delay doesn’t mean denial, when you pray, repent and praise God he’s going to release the blessing that will get you out of your stuck place.
He’s going to expedite your healing, he’s going to make sure what you went through doesn’t kill you!
How many of you realize that there is something in this world that you could be doing that would make someone else’s life better? We all may have felt this way at one time or another however, when our own life is “lifeing” it’s hard to see past our own “Stuck Place”
Well, God wanted me to remind the family that you don’t have to remain in your stuck place. He has a provided a way of escape but it requires your cooperation. God is saying “Help me, help you” see when Jonah realize what God was requiring of him, he tried to go a different route and ended up worst off. Has that ever happened to you? God tells you something or shows you something and in the back of your mind you say “imma see for myself” and go another way? Well that’s what happened to Jonah, he wanted to see for himself and God allowed the whale to swallow him up.
Now I need to pause right there, because some of you family have been wondering why am I always circling this same mountain, this same situation, remaining in this stuck place…the promises of God have always been available to you but your disobedience has caused the whales of life to swallow up your blessings, to swallow up your breakthrough, to swallow up your resources.
But I got good news today, the loss was only temporary! It was only temporary to get you to see that God’s way is the only way. It was temporary to show you that, you have more inside of you than you think and what you have, God needs! Come on, as a family we have been blessed beyond measure we have gifts and talents that can impact the entire world. But we have to get out of our stuck place and allow God’s will to be done in our lives. Jonah wrestled in the belly of that whale for 3 days and while he was in there, the Lord God almighty got a hold of him and gave him a snap shot of what’s to come. The greatness that God placed inside of Jonah begin to rumble so much so that the whale had to throw him up! I feel the presence of God family….some of you are wrestling with what God has called you to do because it doesn’t look like someone else’s gift, or maybe you think someone else is already doing it. I’m here to tell you that can’t nobody do it, the way that God told you to do it. And you need to surrender to God and get out of your stuck place. Get out of your own way. That place will not serve you any longer and it will only delay the promises of God which are yes and Amen. Come on family say it out of your mouth “I’m getting out of my stuck place” say it again “I’m getting out of my stuck place” God has so much more for you. When you go to him in prayer, lay it all out, he already knows but the word says “ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open unto you” theres a blessing in being transparent before the Lord. Theres a blessing in your surrender to our Daddy God. it’s time to get out of that stuck place and allow God to use you as an instrument to build his kingdom and change this world. You’re not going to look like every body, he didn’t design you to fit in, he designed you to stand out.
Don’t settle for good when God has better.
Come on say it one more time. I’m coming out of my stuck place! This time, I’m surrendering, this time I’m believing God to make all things new.
Fast forward, so what happened when Jonah was thrown up at Nineveh. Well the Bible says he preached to Nineveh and warned them to repent before the city was destroyed in 40 days. The lesson that Christians can learn from the story of Jonah and the whale is that you can't outrun God. You'll pay the price for disobedience, but God will forgive you. God is an all-powerful God but also a loving and forgiving God. How many of you know his grace is sufficient. Even when we have done our own thing, God still wants to use us.
Today, let’s follow Jonah’s example to deliverance from our stuck place:
Pray to God for help
We will repent, that means ask for forgiveness for doing things your own way and turn towards heaven for guidance. It’s not a 360 because that will get you right back where you started, it’s a 180 so that God can get the glory out of your life
And we will praise! Come on family that’s a good place to throw up your hands and say Hallelujah!
He is faithful, and as you exit out of your stuck place, I pray that the Holy Spirit fills you up, and that you never look like where you came from! Put your hands together and give God praise!
